15mar01

SOCORRO, N.M., March 15, 2002 -- James A. Brierley, a former biology professor at New Mexico Tech, recently was elected to the membership of the National Academy of Engineers (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions that can be accorded an engineer.

Brierley, who now joins his wife, Tech alumna Corale L. Brierley, as a NAE member, taught and conducted research at the university from the late-1960s to the early 1980s.

Membership in the ranks of the NAE is limited to individuals who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice" and have demonstrated "unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology."

James Brierley, currently chief microbiologist and chief research scientist at Newmont Mining Corporation in Englewood, Colo., was honored last month by the Academy "for recognizing the potential of high-temperature biomining, and for innovative industrial biomining practices."

Corale Brierley, who earned both her bachelor of science and master of science degrees at New Mexico Tech, was inducted into the NAE in 1999 "for innovations applying biotechnology to mine production and remediation." She currently presides as principal of her international company, Brierley Consultancy LLC.